After the End
by Petalouda85
Summary: A series of oneshots set before, after, or during Until the End. M rated chapters may show up. I will take requests for this. First chapter: alternate ending, part 1


**So here is the alternate ending I promised. Well, part of it, anyway (it's only two parts). The most popular choice was "Hiccup crashing the wedding", winning with 36 votes. In second was the successful elopement with 28 votes; in third was Merida marries William with 6 votes and last was Hiccup flees to England with 4 votes.**

**I was a little sad to see that "Merida marries William" option got very few votes, seeing that it was my favorite, but can't complain. I might just write it anyway, seeing that I'm pretty attached to this fanfiction. **

**This starts at the same point as "The Question". If you don't remember: in the original, that's when Hiccup asks Merida to elope with him.**

**Part 1**

"Elope with me." Hiccup suddenly said. Merida's eyes shot open wide and she looked down at him, her expression a mix of shock and surprise.

"What?"

"Elope with me." He repeated. Merida opened her mouth but no sound came out. She was at a loss of words. Hiccup sat up, causing Merida to slide off of him. Taking the cloak to cover herself, she stared down at the floor. "Merida, I can't bear to see you suffer. Run away with me and we can live the rest of our lives in freedom, without fear or hiding."

Merida sighed and cast her eyes to the floor. She wanted to run with him, more than anything but-

"I can't." She replied, "If I run and William finds out, the things he'll do to my family, my people…" She tried to keep it in but she let out a sob. With a pang of guilt, Hiccup took Merida into his arms and let her sob freely into her chest. He should've known that she wouldn't leave because of William. That man had so much power over her that she could barely have a free thought. As Merida continued to cry, Hiccup's was on fast as he tried to think of a possible solution to their dilemma. After a rather quick search, Hiccup had found something that could potentially free Merida and DunBroch.

"There is another way." He announced triumphantly. Merida choked back a sob and looked at him.

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you." He said, cupping her cheek and brushing away the tears, "But you have to promise that you can't agree to marry William when you're at the altar. You can't say it." Merida had no idea what he was up to but she nodded nonetheless.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>For one week, Merida knew nothing of Hiccup's whereabouts, let alone what he was doing. Upon asking her mother, she found out that he had left a letter in the smithy stating that he resigned from his position and had returned to his village in the countryside. Merida knew it was just a hoax but part of her wondered if it was true.<p>

As each day passed, Merida became more and more anxious. As the minutes ticked by, her fear of marrying William became stronger. She knew Hiccup would never condemn her to spent an eternity with such a man so she kept her hope that he would come back.

But her hope was at its lowest when the wedding day finally arrived. At that point, Merida was almost completely convinced that Hiccup wouldn't come back for her. With sadness in her heart, she let Rapunzel put her in her wedding dress, let her braid her hair, place the crown on her head and attach the veil.

The ceremony went by too fast for Merida. All too soon the priest asked her the unwanted question: if she would take William to be her husband and uphold all the vows the priest had read. She looked at the floor, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Hiccup." She whispered to herself, "I…" She hesitated, "I w-" She didn't finish her sentence as the church doors flew open and a roar filled the building. All looked, some screaming, at the sight of a midnight black dragon filling the doorway and the man who sat on top him, his face hidden behind his leather helmet. As soon as she saw them, Merida began to cry tears of joy. William, however, was anything but joyful.

He drew his sword and stared at the stranger.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" He demanded. The dragon bared it's teeth to the lord while the man petted its head in an attempt to calm him down. The man didn't say anything.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?!" William hollered. After another moment, the man reached up for the helmet and pulled it off. There were many gasps as the man shook his head to free his hair from the tangles caused by the helmet. "Hendry Gallach?" William asked dumbfounded. Hiccup smirked and slid off of Toothless.

"Surprised to see me?" He mused.

"Yes, actually, considering you said that you returned to your village." Hiccup chuckled, swinging his arms back and forth while looking around the church.

"Well, I couldn't exactly miss a grand event like this." William scoffed.

"What are you really doing here, Gallach?" He demanded. Hiccup raised an eyebrow before turning to the crowd.

"I can't allow this wedding to continue."

"What?" The King hollered as the crowd began to murmur.

"And why not?" Queen Elinor demanded. The blacksmith turned his gaze to the royals and bowed politely to them.

"Your Majesties, there are many reasons. First and foremost," Hiccup hesitated, letting out a deep breath, "I'm in love with Merida." The murmurs became even louder as everyone was either intrigued or shocked by Hiccup's confession. "But William," He continued, instantly silencing the crowd, "Only cares for the crown she would inherit. Not only that. He would beat Merida if she didn't obey him." The murmurs escalated into shouts as more became revealed.

"How dare you accuse me of such things!" The Lord hollered. Hiccup rolled his eyes at William's pathetic attempt to look noble. He pointed an accusing finger towards the Lord.

"Don't deny it William! I saw the bruises myself!" He lowered his hand and looked to Merida, who was smiling at him, albeit with tears. William lowered his sword; he knew there was no way to escape from this. He racked his mind for something to make him seem less than the wrongdoer. It didn't take long to find the perfect move.

"You're no angel yourself, Hendry Gallach." He sneered, walking towards the blacksmith, not even flinching when the dragon growled. "You've lied too, lies that are the most grave." He stopped and looked at the King and Queen. "Your Majesties, this blacksmith has done nothing but lie to you. The man before you is not a Scot, as he claims to be, but a Viking!" The murmurs were even louder. "I confess that I've lied but lying is human nature and human sin. Regardless, I've broken no laws but Hendry Gallach is a traitor to DunBroch, tainting our soil with his barbaric feet." The two men stared each other down, neither willing to give in, "Do you deny that you're a Viking, filth?" Hiccup's fist clenched and he was about to pull forth his sword but he didn't. If he pulled the sword, he'd be no better than William.

The church was eerily silent as all stared at Hiccup, some expecting him to deny the accusation while the others expected a confession.

"No." William smiled gleefully while lords from various places started shouting every insult known to their tongue. Hiccup remained still in his spot, his eyes shooting between the guards that were approaching him at the command of William.

A high pitched whistle echoed, causing all to fall still. Hiccup pulled away his fingers from his mouth and waited.

5 seconds, 10 seconds.

A rumbling could be heard. Softly first but then louder and louder until…

_Crash!_

The circular glass window above the door smashed into smithereens and was quickly followed by another roar of a dragon. This dragon was blue with yellow spikes on its head and tail. It flew into the church and landed near the altar, causing the priest to scurry into the corner in fear. Merida took a careful step back. She noticed that this dragon had a rider. A woman who couldn't have been much older than her with blonde hair that was decorated with a leather head band. Most notably about her was her blue cloak. Grabbing a two-sided axe, the woman slid off the dragon and revealed herself to the crowd.

In the meantime, two more dragons had entered. One was huge with blazing red scales and a rider dressed in black while the other dragon was round and chubby with brown scales and a rider dressed in green. They landed in various places, keeping the crowd in check.

William stared at them all with awe but looked back to Hiccup when he cleared his throat.

"You seem to forget that there are more Vikings out there that don't like you, William." Hiccup jeered. He pointed at the woman, "That is the one you know as Aileen Fletcher but to me, her name is Astrid Hofferson." Hiccup repeated the same for the other two, naming their Scottish names first before revealing their Viking ones.

"Lastly, there's me." Hiccup said."You all know me as Hendry Gallach but my name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of Stoick the Vast, Chief of Berk and the Hooligan tribe." Immediately, the uproar came.

William, seeing the confession as a legitimate confession of treason, lifted the sword to deal the only measures fit for such a crime: death.

Time slowed. Hiccup reached for his sword, Toothless formed a blast in his mouth, Astrid ran to William with her axe lifted.

An unnatural clang was heard as two weapons clashed. The dragon swallowed the shot and the two Vikings stared in awe at the sight of the Princess, dressed in bridal regalia, was blocking William's blade with one she had taken from a guard. William was the most surprised of all.

The battle between them consisted of a few clashes of swords and a swoop of the flat of her blade against the back of William's leg that sent him to the floor. Merida pointed the sword at his neck, a tiny push enough to send it through the skin. Reluctantly, William put his sword on the ground and held his hands up in surrender.

"Leave." Merida seethed, "And take your puppets with you." William turned around and glared at her.

"You haven't seen the last of me. I swear it." He stepped away, signaling to Cináed and Artair to follow him, and the three men left without another word. Everyone stood still, the only sound coming from Merida, who was panting from exertion from the fight. She looked at Hiccup, who looked back with shock and awe. The sword clattered to the floor as Merida ran to him and embraced him tightly. Hiccup embraced her back with the same intensity, pulling her hair out of her restrictive braid.

"Thank you." She whispered, grabbing his collar and placing a firm kiss on his lips. Hiccup kissed her back gladly, figuring the trouble were over and that it was a fresh, new start for him, Merida and DunBroch. Unfortunately, the trouble was just beginning.

**Right that's part one for ya.**

**Review, favorite, follow.**


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